Name: My father is Zhao Dehan, and I hope he will become a dragon!

North of Jingzhou City, a cold wind carrying the smell of burning food swept over us.

Zhao Dehan didn't get into the black Audi provided by the provincial party committee; instead, he got directly into Sun Liancheng's old Santana.

As soon as the car door closed, the heating was insufficient, and a layer of white fog quickly covered the glass.

As Sun Liancheng drove, he wiped the sweat from his brow, his fingers tapping rapidly on the steering wheel: "Governor Zhao, the situation is worse than what you described on the phone... Last night, the workers blocked three excavators at the factory gate, poured gasoline on them, and set them on fire—not the factory, but the bulldozers!"

Zhao Dehan squinted, sensing that the situation was tricky.

Those people at Dafeng Factory are truly insane.

Zhao Dehan continued, "The fire brigade came in two groups. The first time they were stopped outside, but they managed to rush in the second time. The fire is out now, but the people are still inside the factory. The gate is locked with chains, and the Internationale is playing on loudspeakers..."

Zhao Dehan hummed in agreement, then asked, "Is the situation under control now?"

Sun Liancheng said, "It should be under control, after all, Secretary Li went there personally!"

Zhao Dehan hummed in agreement, then suddenly asked, "Who approved the demolition team from Shanshui Group for entering the site?"

Sun Liancheng froze: "It's...it's a 'Temporary Construction Permit' issued by the Municipal Construction Commission, based on the 'Guangming District Urban Renewal Campaign Order' previously issued by Secretary Ding Yizhen..."

"Was it signed by Ding Yizhen?"

Zhao Dehan asked softly, "So, is this order still valid?"

Sun Liancheng dared not answer.

Zhao Dehan took a deep breath, feeling somewhat anxious. He had just gotten off the plane when Handong Province had already dealt him a severe blow.

Dafeng Factory

At this moment, the iron gate was tightly shut, and a dozen thick iron chains were wrapped around the rusty steel bars, the clasps welded shut. Inside, a dark mass of figures stood on the smoke-filled roof of the factory building. Someone was holding a megaphone, repeating over and over again: "We want work! We don't want compensation! We want Dafeng Factory to live!"

In the distance, several police cars silently rotated their red and blue lights.

Li Dakang stood beside the fire truck, wearing a cashmere sweater under a dark gray short coat, his hands in his pockets, his gaze calm and serene.

Behind him, Qi Tongwei, dressed in a crisp police uniform, stood beside Li Dakang.

Not long ago, when the fire was raging, Chen Yanshi arrived and calmed the crowd down.

At this moment, we are in a state of truce.

"Secretary Li, we can't delay any longer."

Qi Tongwei lowered his voice: "The fire has just been extinguished, and people's hearts are most tender—now that we're forcibly demolishing them, they don't even have the strength to resist. Look, even Chen Yanshi is persuading them to release the people. This is a turning point. As long as the people are released, we'll move the gasoline away and demolish the Dafeng Factory directly!"

Li Dakang also squinted, constantly calculating in his mind.

At this moment, an elderly man wearing faded blue overalls was still shouting.

This man is Chen Yanshi, 82 years old, former deputy director of the Handong Provincial Procuratorate, the initiator of the Dafeng Factory restructuring plan, and the person who personally wrote the "employee stock ownership plan" into the articles of association back then.

Then they heard Chen Yanshi roar loudly: "Comrades! I am Chen Yanshi! Dafeng Factory was built with you all. I carried the bricks of the factory one by one; I calculated the accounts of the factory one by one; I issued the share certificates of the factory to you one by one!"

"Today, I'm not asking you to compromise, I'm only asking you—to trust the government this once!"

"Trust me, Chen Yanshi, just this once! Trust the government just this once, and we will definitely give you justice!"

The crowd fell silent.

Chen Yanshi still has a lot of face to offer.

Chen Yanshi took a breath and turned towards the fire lane: "Let the fire trucks in! Take the twenty tons of gasoline away! We're not burning anything, we're just protecting what we have—our livelihood, our factory's name, and our dignity!"

Before he could finish speaking, a loud clang came from inside the factory gate—an iron chain lock was smashed open.

The crowd slowly parted to make way for a narrow path.

Firefighters pushed hoses and quickly entered, while a van reversed in and began clearing the gasoline drums.

Qi Tongwei's expression changed slightly. He leaned closer to Li Dakang: "Secretary Li, now's the time! Take advantage of their soft heart and get on the site immediately! The bulldozers from Shanshui Group are already warmed up; they're just waiting for the gasoline to be transported out so we can start demolishing!"

Li Dakang took a deep breath and waved to the people behind him: "Call the people from Shanshui Group over. Bulldozers, get ready to move in."

Qi Tongwei's eyes lit up.

Then, the demolition team leader came to Li Dakang.

"Secretary Li!" the demolition team leader said respectfully.

Li Dakang sneered, "How dare you set fire to something like this!"

The demolition team leader said with a wronged expression, "Secretary, this fire really wasn't started by our demolition team."

Li Dakang sneered, "You didn't set the fire, but you were the ones impersonating police officers, weren't you?"

The demolition team leader was even more aggrieved: "This is the factory I organized... Secretary, I have no choice but to do this. Demolishing this factory is too difficult. Let me report to you, this factory no longer belongs to Dafeng Factory. It belongs to Shanshui Group. The workers are just being unreasonable and have been occupying it."

Li Dakang waved his hand and said, "Alright, we'll talk about the details later. Get me a bulldozer right now; it has to be demolished tonight!"

The demolition team leader hesitated: Still demolish?

Li Dakang glared at the demolition team leader.

The demolition team leader said with a wry smile, "We're still short two..."

Li Dakang said firmly, "Fine, I'll go coordinate right away. You must execute this perfectly; I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong!"

As they were talking, Chen Yanshi walked over. He had obviously overheard their conversation, and immediately frowned: "Li Dakang, what are you trying to do?"

Li Dakang took a deep breath: "Old Chen, whether it's an economic dispute or an equity dispute, it should be resolved within the scope of the law through legal channels, don't you agree?"

Chen Yanshi: "Yes, that's right, we should resolve the issue through legal means, but now is not the time to talk about that."

Li Dakang countered, "Why isn't now the time to talk about this?"

Chen Yanshi: "Because the people are disappointed, distrustful, and have lost their foundation! You didn't handle economic disputes well; you didn't handle equity disputes well; the workers are emotional, and you're starting to emphasize legal channels. In other words, it's like saying, 'I can bully you however I want, but if you resist, it's your fault!' This kind of thing, while not new, is still wrong!"

Li Dakang took a deep breath and said, "Old Chen, you joined the Party earlier than us, you're our former chief prosecutor, and you're older than all of us, but you shouldn't be their backer. To put it bluntly, without your support, Dafeng Factory wouldn't be fighting against the government to this day!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yanshi immediately flew into a rage: "What do you mean? Do you think I'm a shield for ordinary people committing crimes? Do you know why they're resisting? It's because unscrupulous businessmen have cheated and harmed them! I've called and written to you, Li Dakang, about this matter, but you've ignored me completely! To put it bluntly, you, Li Dakang, and the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee bear a significant responsibility for tonight's events!"

Li Dakang's tone also became serious: "Comrade Chen Yanshi, I assure you with my Party spirit and personal integrity that I have neither received your letter nor your phone call!"

Chen Yanshi immediately retorted, "Then you've been sidelined! You're out of touch with the masses, out of touch with reality!"

"I..." Li Dakang was speechless for a moment.

However, Li Dakang didn't intend to speak to Chen Yanshi anymore. He glanced at the demolition team leader and said, "Demolish!"

"You!" Chen Yanshi stood up, knowing he couldn't reason with Li Dakang, and immediately went to walk among the workers.

Police and workers confronted each other again.

at this point--

A dark gray Santana without license plates suddenly came to a stop between the fire truck and the bulldozer.

The car door opened.

Zhao Dehan jumped out of the car and said loudly, "Workers, listen to me. I am the newly appointed vice governor of Handong Province. My name is Zhao Dehan. The Central Committee has appointed me, Zhao Dehan, to handle the Dafeng Factory matter."

Then, Zhao Dehan's gaze fell on Li Dakang, and he said in a serious tone: "Li Dakang, you are not allowed to forcibly demolish Dafeng Factory."